On January 18, 2015, Peter Jonsson and Carl-Frederik Arndt, graduate students at Stanford University, were riding their bikes across campus at about 1 a.m. As they rode through an alley, they saw something disturbing: a man on top of a woman next to a dumpster. The woman was unconscious. The two students yelled at the man, who tried to run away. One of the students stopped him, while the other went to check on the woman.
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The man who tried to run away was Brock Turner, and, in March 2016, he was convicted of sexually assaulting the woman, who has remained anonymous. In a letter to the court, Turner’s victim praised Jonsson and Arndt, thanking them for stepping in even though they could have biked on past. “I sleep with two bicycles that I drew taped above my bed to remind myself there are heroes in this story. That we are looking out for one another,” she wrote.
When it comes to some forms of violence—in particular, sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence—bystanders can make a difference. It’s as true in workplaces as it is on a college campus.
We Right Wing Extremists have a saying: when seconds count, the police can be there in minutes. The news might lead us to think that violence is everywhere and we have no defense against evildoers. The truth is that there are about 1 million incidents per year in which ordinary civilians defend themselves or others against criminal violence. When the intended victim is well armed with a firearm, in the vast majority of incidents the weapon is not fired; IOW, nothing happens that is worthy of a place on the network evening news or an entry in the police records. If more people understood the truth, however counter-intuitive it may be, we would all be safer. And, heroes like those you have recognized should not have to risk their lives because of well-meaning but misguided laws that prevent them from being armed.
I apologize for posting twice; congratulations to your demon in the machine that noticed that. It would be helpful if you would post a notice saying that we should not worry that the system has failed – just because we still see that there are – 0 – comments. And, I note with some concern that my URL is required but I do not have one. Thanks for the good news, even though traditionally many people believe that only bad news is worth publishing 🙂 I hope you enjoy my comment.